Brittany Chandler, a student at Lakeview Academy, placed second in the Hall County Optimist Club's essay contest. She is the daughter of Boyd and Marie Chandler.

A person makes thousands of decisions a day. These decisions are based on the benefits and consequences of the future. Our decisions will affect our futures, whether we like it or not.

Many people make decisions without considering the consequences; these decisions affect many lives. Decisions are most crucial in living a healthy and beneficial life. The choices I make today affect my future jobs, my voice in the environment around me, and my health.

My future is greatly affected by my choices in education. It is easy to be lazy in my schoolwork and barely succeed. However, I like to challenge myself and use the full capacity of my brain. In the future, I will feel better knowing that I worked hard, utilized my potential, and succeeded.

My grades today affect the colleges that I can attend. I want to challenge myself in college, to mold myself into the best that I can be. I want to go to a college that will challenge me. If I work hard, I know I will succeed in my future job. A job will allow me to influence and learn from those around me.

The choices I make today will also affect my voice in my surrounding environment. By simply choosing to have a voice in the decisions made today, I can change my future drastically.

In my city, a coming election concerns the selling of alcohol on Sundays. Although I'm not old enough to vote, my voice can be just as effective as a vote. I am participating in a forum to express our beliefs and concerns to the commissioners. We will amplify our voices through picket signs and the support of our chosen speakers. This vote will affect our city's respect for the Sabbath day. Therefore, having a voice can help shape my future and win the attention of the leaders of our communities and nation.

Choices made today also affect my health. My decision about sex before marriage can affect my health drastically; my eating habits are also important. Healthy foods can make my heart and other organs stronger and I could increase my lifespan.

The choices our nation makes about health issues also affect my future. For example, our nation does not need to give up on finding a cure for cancer. It may seem impossible to cure this horrible disease, but we may get closer to a cure. I need to know that I can be confident in my nation's decisions about health issues.

Many decisions are crucial to my future life. Not only are my personal decisions important; those of my nation are as well. The effect of my choices today is not limited to the examples above. Many aspects of my life are affected by my choices. I think about what the future may hold with each decision. I want to have a beneficial future, and I can achieve this by the choices made today.